Destination Blue Water

The offshore photography of Tom Spencer, who cut his teeth shooting with an iphone.

Tom Spencer

WHO: Tom Spencer, 27, founder of Fish Hunt Photo.

WHAT: Fishing photographer from North Carolina.

WHEN & WHERE: This past summer Spencer traveled the East Coast shooting tournaments, but he really enjoys the year-round fishing scene in his hometown of Beaufort, North Carolina.

WHY: His first professional assignments were to shoot portraits and job sites, but Spencer quickly gravitated toward photographing his passions: hunting and fishing.

HOW: In college, Spencer took a couple of intro-level courses with a 35mm film camera. After he graduated, he did the bulk of his training with an iPhone. “I didn’t really have money for the latest and greatest gear, but I was always just snapping shots with my iPhone, constantly practicing composition. That’s how I kept my eyes trained,” says Spencer. A fishing trip to the Everglades inspired him to upgrade his equipment. He now shoots with a Nikon D7100 digital SLR camera, but it’s his compositions that Spencer credits for his early success.